What is the main limitation of using Body Mass Index (BMI) to assess health risk?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The prompt asks about the main limitation of using Body Mass Index (BMI) to assess health risk.
First, it's important to acknowledge the provided data: the answer field indicates a single option, 'It doesn't account for muscle mass,' but the answer_options array is empty, so there are no additional choices to evaluate.
With that in mind, I will analyze the stated option and why it is widely considered a primary limitation of BMI.
Option: It doesn't account for muscle mass.
- This statement is accurate because BMI is a simple ratio of weight to height and does not distinguish between weight from fat and weight from lean muscle. As a result, very muscular individuals may have a high BMI and be classified as overweight or obese despite having low body fat and a favorable metabolic profile.
- Conversely, individuals with low muscle mass, such as some older adults or those with sarcopenia, might have a normal or low BMI despite having a higher body fat percentage, which can still place them at greater health risk due to adiposity, particularly visceral fat.
- Because BMI fails to capture body composition (fat mass vs. lean mass) and fat distribution, it can misclassify health risk for both ends of the spectrum: muscular people may be mislabeled as high risk, while those with normal BMI could harbor unhealthy fat levels or metabolic risk.
- Additional limitations often discussed alongside this point include not accounting for age, sex, ethnicity, and fat distribution (e.g., visceral vs. subcutaneous fat), which influence risk profiles beyond what BMI conveys.
Given the absence of other options to compare, this explanation supports why the statement about not accounting for muscle mass is a central limitation of BMI in assessing health risk.
If future questions provide alternative choices, we could contrast this limitation with others (e.g., BMI’s correlation with risk for many, but not all, health outcomes; age-related changes in body composition; variations across ethnic groups) to further sharpen understanding.

ANSC20002_2025_SM2 Week 12 quiz

What is the main limitation of using Body Mass Index (BMI) to assess health risk?

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